NRG Energy (NRG) ended the recent trading session at $153.68, demonstrating a +1.07% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.43%.
Shares of the power company have depreciated by 3.66% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Utilities sector's gain of 0.34%, and the S&P 500's gain of 3.92%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of NRG Energy in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.07, reflecting a 27.7% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $6.31 billion, indicating a 5.26% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
NRG's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.77 per share and revenue of $28.87 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +17.02% and +2.64%, respectively.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for NRG Energy. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 5.79% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. NRG Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, NRG Energy is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.58. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 17.99, so one might conclude that NRG Energy is trading at a premium comparatively.
One should further note that NRG currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.21. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Utility - Electric Power was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.64 at yesterday's closing price.
The Utility - Electric Power industry is part of the Utilities sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, placing it within the top 35% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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